Last week I bought a pair of corduroys — my first since the lilac pair with rhinestones on the pockets that I had in 3rd grade — and it got me wondering what corduroy had been up to in the intervening years. Floor cushions, tea cozys, and catnip tomatoes, it turns out…

I feel like corduroy has to be used carefully, but perhaps that's just because my parents once owned a rust-colored wide-wale corduroy fold-out couch. It was not worthy of their gorgeous old home, let's just say that. A bit of corduroy goes a long way...